Device for cleaning tubes



(No Model.)

F. BRADY.

DEVICE FOR CLEANING TUBES.

Patented June 24, 1890.

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UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK BRADY. F SAN QUENTIN, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM R. THOMAS AND RAwDON ARNOLD, BOTH OF ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR CLEANING TUBES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,767, dated June 24, 1890.

Application filed May 31, 1889. Serial No. 312,738. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK BRADY, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Quentin, in the county of Marin andState of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Cleaning Tubes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art To to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

I 5 My invention relates to improvements in devices for scouring and cleaning tubes, cylinders, barrels, &c.such as gun swabs, boiler-tube cleaners, &c.and has for its object the provision of a device of this sort in which pressure in a right line will cause the travel of the device and will also cause its rotation.

This invention consists of a twisted or twist-grooved rod and a plug havingan open- 2 5 ing shaped to (it the rod,- through which said rod passes. In addition to these features, I

- may, in cases where larger pipessuch as boiler tubes are to be cleaned, provide spring sides to the plug to make it fit in the 0 mouth of the pipe. The plug, on which no spring is applied, is tapered to fit any given range of opening-:as in guns, any size bore from No. 8 to No. 14-or any other kind of tube within the range of ordinary sizes, and with 5 the spring sides the plug is given a wider range of applicability. At one end the rod is provided with a swiveling head to be operated by hand, and at the other with any suitable implementas a scraper, brush, or swab-of any desired kind, according to the use to which the device is to be applied.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rod for the 5 use described, showing the plug in section and a portion of the rod and handle broken away. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of a rod with a section of a plug. Fig. 3 is a sectionof a tube with section of spring-plug and elevation of portion of rod. Fig. at is a section, Fig. 1, on

line 00 or, looking to the right. Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 1 on line y y, also looking to the right. Fig. 6 is a section of Fig. 5 on line 2 .2. looking to the left. Fig. 7 is a section of Fig. 3 on line o 1., looking to the right.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they occur.

A is the rod, which may be a bar of metal, twisted as shown, or may be a round bar provided with a twist groove or grooves running from end to end, and in this specification where the term twisted rod is used it will be understood to cover both these forms. At one end of the rod is provided a brush swab or scraper A, and at the other a swiveling head or handle A B is a plug for insertion into the end of a tube or barrel. Its sides are made tapering to fit any sized bore within certain range, and a broadened head B is provided to prevent its possibility of dropping, entering the tube or barrel beyond this head. In the plug is provided an opening 1), corresponding in shape with the shape of across-section of the rod. This shaped opening may extend only through the head I), while the passage of the plug is cylindrical, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4,

5, and 6, or it may extend in its twisted form throughout the body of the plug as well as the head, as shown in Figs. 2 and (3. \V hen it is to be used, the plug with the rod in it is inserted in the end of the barrel, force applied to the handle A and the rod with its swab or'scraper will be forced inward,'and at the same time rotated throughout its entire travel. It will .be understood that the rapidity of rotation will depend on the rapidity of the forward movement, and may be regulated as desired. The swab or scraper is 0 detachable, as shown in 'Fig. 1, so that any suitable implement may be readily substituted for any other which has been in use upon the rod.

In addition to the features already described, I provide springs upon the sides of the plug, as shown in Figs. 3 and 7, which constitute What may be denominated an expansion-plug, which is especially useful in tubes of larger diameter, such as boiler- 10o tubes, &c. In such cases I provide openings 1) on either side of head I), and secure strapsprings c c to the inner end of the plug, which project out through openings b and present thumbpieces C O, to be seized when the springs are to be compressed for removal of the plug. In boiler-tubes, which are set by expansion inside the tube-sheet, and in other situations, where ashoulder is provided at or near the mouth of the tube, the springs will also be provided with cams 0*, to engage the shoulders and give firmer hold It is evident that other forms of plug may be used as well as other forms of spring.

The brush is detachable from the end of the rod by having a metallic butt a,in which abore is made to receive the end of the rod, and a screw a is provided for fastening the parts together. In the forward end of the butt the brush-wires a are inserted in suitable holes, and lie in grooves along the sides of the butt, and the bristles a are held in the twisted folds of the wires. The springs D may have teeth d on their outer sides, to give a firmer grip on the tube.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, lS-- 1. The combination of a plug having a twisted opening through it and an enlarged head of a twisted rod adapted to register with said opening, and provided with a brush at one end and a swiveling head at the other, as set forth. 7

2. The combination of a twisted rod havthe passage of said rod and springs upon the side of the plug, as set forth.

4. A plug provided with a twisted bore for receiving the twisted rod of a tube-cleaner, said plug having springs O 0 upon the sides thereof projecting outward beyond the head of the plug, as set forth.

5. The combination, with a twisted rod and correspondingly-bored plug through which it passes, of a detachable brush having a butt removably secured upon the rod and twisted wires holding the bristles inserted in the butt, as set forth.

(5. The combination of a twisted rod and a correspondingly-bored plug provided with expansion-springs onthe sides secured at one end and bent backward and extended out beyond the head of the plug and having serrated sides to grip the sides of the tube, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

I FRANK BRADY.

Witnesses:

RAwDoN ARNOLD, J NO. McOoMB, Jr. 

